daily life and more besides…

Main menu

Tag Archives: Original

It’s not often that I get to try the same beer on tap and bottled, it’s usually one or the other, and mostly the latter, although with the recent opening of Munro’s not far from work that balance might change a little.

Tonight was something of a rarity then, as I cracked open a bottle of Innis & Gunn Original, a beer I first tasted on draught back in October, albeit that was a sip from Gem’s glass. On that occasion I remember really enjoying it, so I was looking forward to tonight’s tipple.

It would be wrong to say I was disappointed, but the beer didn’t quite live up to the memory. For a start off it didn’t pour well – I like my beer to have a decent head, and although that’s not always easy to do from a bottle, it is usually achievable. The Innis & Gunn poured more like a soft drink, with an initial fizzy head that quickly disappeared. It did at least retain some carbonation to the end, though, rather than going completely flat.

That was about the only negative though, and it may be have been down to my pouring and/or choice of glass – that’s something I need to learn a bit more about.

Taste wise, it definitely lived up to expectations. Aged in oak casks for 77 days, the beer has a complex malty flavour with more than a hint of vanilla. There is also a spirity taste in there that reminded me of rum. Presumably that’s down to the higher than average 6.6% alcohol content.

Overall, it was an enjoyable beer, but not quite as good as last time round. I’ll definitely be looking for this one again, but will probably stick to draught in future.